


The Things We Hide

by BuellersFueller



Category: Descendants (2015)
Genre: Friendship, Platonic Cuddling, best friends cuddling, cuddle buddies, mentions of past neglect, platonic, sick days
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2015-08-02
Packaged: 2018-04-12 15:06:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4483994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuellersFueller/pseuds/BuellersFueller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben doesn't really get why every time he drops by Evie and Mal's dorm he finds it empty. He also doesn't really get why every time he stops by Jay and Carlos's dorm he finds all 4 of them. Until one day he does.</p>
<p>Ben over hears a conversation between Lonnie and a friend of hers that sheds some light on why the descendants stick so close together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Things We Hide

**Author's Note:**

> So I saw the movie and have reached the conclusion the kids couldn't have been raised with love so they'd find it themselves and this is the result of that thought.

It started when he went by the girls dorm because he hadn't seen either Evie or Mal all day even though they were supposed to have history together that day. Their absence had been the elephant in the room that nobody wanted to mention in his presence. They were his responsibility and so here he was. Knocking on the door awkwardly and waiting for them to answer. After several minutes of silence he decided to just go in, only to find it empty. So he went to the boys dorm, worry building in the back of his mind. Had he unleashed four new villains into his kingdom? Had he misjudged the severity of the cruelty they were capable of? 

Finally he arrived at the boys dorm and knocked, trying to ignore the building dread in his chest, and was relieved when the door swung open, only for worry to take back over when he was faced with an exhausted Jay who had his hair in a messy pony tail and bags under his eyes, who quickly stepped out of them room and gently closed the door behind him, though not before Ben caught a glimpse of Evie and Mal huddled on the bed buckets on either side while Carlos sat beside the bed quietly watching them, not even glancing towards the door before it shut. 

"What's up, man?" Jay asked sounding even more tired them he looked. Ben blinked quickly trying to wrap his head around the situation he seemed to have walked in on. "None of you came to class today, so I came to see why. Are they okay?" he asked in a rush. Jay shrugged. "Sick day, Evie and Mal have been trowing up since midnight and Carlos and I have been taking care of them." Suddenly there was the sound of puking from the room behind them and Jay cursed. "Look Princey, I'd love to stay and chat but I have to take care of them." Before Ben could protest he was watching Jay slam the door shut before he could see who it was that had just barfed again. Shaking his head, he turned to explain the situation to the Fairy God Mother to explain what had happened.

* * *

The next time he noticed odd behavior from the it was when the swimming unit had been announced. Evie started crying, and Mal had dragged all of the group out of the room before pretty much anyone noticed. Again he went to check on them and again no one answered at the girls' dorm and again the door was swiftly answered at the boys' dorm. Only this time it was Mal and before the door was shut he saw the other three huddled together on the bed, which he suddenly realized was both beds pushed together. Suddenly snapping fingers in face dragged him to reality.

"What's up, Princey?" Mal asked sounding annoyed. "You guys left gym class, so I came to see why." He didn't bother asking what was going on this time. If Mal wanted him to know he would be told and asking would get him nowhere with her. "We can't swim and won't be participating. Anything else?" Ben got the sense he was missing something but he didn't ask again. He just nodded and watched as the door was slammed in his face again. This time he saw Mal join the group where they sat cuddling easily and wondered why they were so strange but decided to head towards the Fairy God Mother's office to attempt to get them excused.  HE didn't really have high hopes given how little he knew but he would try.

 

 

* * *

He really didn't get them. He watched them in public and they seemed fairly normal, not good but not bad, not enemies but not really friends. But he knew that when one got sick they all stayed to take care of them. And that they seemed to live all four of them in the boys dorm with the two beds pushed together. And that if one of them got upset they would all huddle together and deal with it as one. And it didn't make sense to him until he finally realized something about their upbringing. 

Lonnie was talking about how she'd seen them together cooking in the kitchen and how she'd found out that their mothers didn't love them. And it clicked. They were each other's only loving family and to them that was special. They had to protect each other on the island and felt they had the protect each here. It was almost sweet. He'd have to see what he could do to get their classes scheduled so that they were together next year.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah it's not great and even though they didn't drug up the prince in this au I kept the cooking scene because I thought it was important, even if it might have just been manipulation. But I like it.


End file.
